


Berries and Scenic Places

by pebblefog



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29536230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pebblefog/pseuds/pebblefog
Summary: Just an over enthusiastic boy and his berry expert friend exploring the great sights of the Galar region.Contains Postwickshipping and teens being teens. You've been warned, mate.
Relationships: Hop & Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Kudos: 12





	Berries and Scenic Places

It was nearly the end of early June, the weather was perfect around this time. A rolling breeze descends throughout the city of Hammerlocke and intermingles with the old buildings. A young girl and a young boy wander the cobblestone streets, talking and taking in the beautiful view. The afternoon sun kisses their skin, warming their cores as they take the scenic route. They take a seat by the nearest bench they could find to rest their legs. They had just come from Spikemuth, having earned their Dark Gym badges.

“So what do you wanna do, mate? First time exploring Hammerlocke?” Hop says with great enthusiasm. Gloria brushes a few stray bangs behind her ear, “yeah, yeah it is. I was hoping to see what berries Hammerlocke has. Kinda in need of Haban berries. You said Raihan was a dragon gym leader, correct?” Hop nods, “yeah, and he’s the last gym leader we need to face so we can go straight to Wyndon!” Gloria hums and takes a moment to breathe in the large, gym stadium behind her and Hop. “I haven’t seen any Haban berries on the way here in the wild areas. A shame too, I was gonna use them to strategize against him.” Gloria sighs, crossing her arms. A lot of her Pokémon were unfortunately undertrained, not to mention one of them was weak to dragon types.

Hop inches near her, hands behind his back. “You know, we _could_ go on a ‘lil nature walk. It’ll give you plenty of time to find what you need!” Gloria looks at Hop curiously, “huh?”

“Raihan’s usually swamped with gym challengers anyways, so what do you say? Wanna do it?” Hop places a hand on his hip, smiling at his rival. He extends the other, and Gloria couldn’t help but giggle and reach for it. Hop pulls the girl up and pulls out his Rotom phone, searching up locations. He scratches his head, “the next location may be a tad far, but I heard there are a lot of berry trees there! Perfect for your berry expedition!” Gloria grins, relieved that there _is_ hope after all. “I guess we should get going then, right Hop?” She says calmly, but to find Hop wasn’t there anymore. "Hop?" She looks left and right, but Hop was already across the street running, “race you there!”

“Wha- hey! No fair you bloke!” Gloria bolts after the boy, angry he got a head start.

\---

“We’re here-“ Before Hop could finish, Gloria runs into him full force.

“C _ripes!_ ”

The two tumble down the grassy hill before landing on top of each other. Their faces were practically touching, and both turn a shade of red. Gloria puts a hand on Hop’s face, ignoring his pleads as she gets up from the ground. “You really should watch where you’re going…” Gloria grumbled. Hop interjects, “mate, you ran into me _first!_ ” His response was given a small raspberry from the other. Gloria takes a look around the area. It really was quite a nice spot to explore. Seems like Hop picked the perfect spot yet again. A few Rookidee flutter away as the two wander the place, the grass crunching beneath their shoes. 

“So Hop, how’s school been for you?” Gloria questioned, examining a few trees from afar. Hop brushes a stray leaf from his coat, “it’s nice if you squint enough. Lee, though, takes forever to pick me up! That bloke gets lost so often." Gloria finds herself laughing at Hop's comment about Leon. He continues, "ah, so, what about you?”

“I did a research paper on the types of berries that give Pokémon advantages in battle. It’s quite interesting if you think about it, like how Haban berries halve a super effective dragon move.” Gloria replies with the smallest hint of passion. Hop could tell his travel companion was kind of a nerd when it came to berries and battle strategies, which he admired quite a lot. Gloria really was something special in his opinion. The girl suddenly fixated on a tree, going near it. It was absolutely gigantic! Not nearly as big as the legendary Dyna Hill Tree, but still pretty big. She turns to Hop with a skip, “wanna rest your legs under this tree? We’ve been traveling a lot, and I think my legs are gonna fall off soon.” Hop doesn’t deny the fact that his legs are sore as well, so he joins Gloria under the shade of the tree. They sit on a nice patch of clover and lichen under the tree. Bits of sun peck the ground as it shines through the tree's leaves and elongated branches.

Gloria throws a pokeball into the air, summoning a Noibat from it. “Hey mate! You can go play if you want? Just be back before dinner, ‘kay? No picking up girlfriends either.” Gloria jokes to her Pokémon, waggling a finger. The Noibat chirps excitingly and flies away, probably going to do some personal training. Gloria leans back, propping herself up with her arms, “I should probably train a bit more. A lot of my Pokémon are lower leveled. Not to mention, Noibat isn’t even a Noivern yet.”

Hop laughs at his friend, “I thought you said you were ready to face Raihan?” Gloria was offended, “I never said such thing! You were the one who said that! I said I was ready as long as I train and get the right berries.”

Hop laughs once more, “okay, okay, I get it!”

“You better, or I’ll have your bloody badges dug into the ground one eighty two centimeters below,” Gloria jokes.

The two laugh, now just enjoying the summer breeze. "Do you really think we'll make it to the top? Just the two of us?" Gloria asks, drawing circles in the clovery patch she and Hop sat on. Hop glances at her, with that big smile he always sports. "Of course, mate! We've made it this far, haven't we?"

Gloria nods, "yeah, it's just..." Hop waits for her answer, she takes in a breath. "Leon's just so strong. I'm kinda scared, y'know?" Hop bumps Gloria in the shoulder, "I think Lee will go easy on you." "I think your mum'll go easy on you," Gloria snorts. "Hey! I'll have you know my mum's a very nice lady!" Both are brought into a laughing fit, out of breath the moment they stop.

A pause before Hop makes some small talk. “So, when did you become so passionate about berries?” He asks, in which Gloria is happy to respond. “I guess it was my shtick when I was a younglin'. My mom worked as a nurse, and she would teach me a lot about berries. A lot are used medicinally for injured Pokémon, but you can do a lot more than just make medicines.”

“You mean like curry?” Hop adds. “Yep! You can also make a lot of pastries with real bits of berries too. Lots of opportunities for just a little fruit. Jams, juice, and much more.” Gloria explains, leaning on Hop's shoulder. "Mum would make these really nice Grepa berry tarts. I could eat those until I burst, really."

However, not too long after, their conversation was rudely interrupted. Akin to a Wailord’s mating call, a deep growl erupts from Hop's stomach, loudly complaining about all the food talk. Gloria takes notice and looks over at Hop. The poor boy looked _mortified_ , tensed up and his face turning beet red. Gloria couldn't help but laugh at Hop's misfortune. And to make matters worse, it happens again, only sounding more desperate. Hop hugs his stomach, whining in sheer embarrassment. "I didn't know you could mimic a Wailord's call, Hop." Gloria chuckles to herself, patting Hop on the back. Poor, poor Hop. As if saving Hop from the situation, a single berry falls on top of his head. It rolls to the ground next to Gloria’s feet. “Hey, a Pecha berry!” Gloria exclaims as she picks it up. When she looks up, she sees Noibat dangling from a branch, it’s arms full of berries. Gloria giggles and shakes her head. Silly Noibat.

In order to save him from his plight, Gloria shoves the large Pecha berry in Hop’s mouth, much to his surprise. He utters a few words of confusion before he starts chewing.

Gloria smirks at him, “your stomach was grumbling so loudly, I was afraid you'd eat me if I didn't give you somethin'. Better?”

Hop didn't find the words to respond, his mouth was still pretty full. Instead, he was distracted by how sweet the fruit was, swallowing the mouthful. Suddenly, a heap ton of different berries fall on an unsuspecting Hop, piling on top of him. He gasps as he finally digs out of the berry pile, confused, “what the-“

Noibat comes fluttering down, giving Hop a small blep. “Oh...”

Gloria gives Hop a little hand, helping him out of the pile of berries. “Thanks Noibat!” She calls out to her Pokémon. “If you’re still hungry, I had Noibat pick a bunch of berries for us.” Gloria plucks a stray Oran berry from Hop's hair, biting into it. Hop smiles and decides to join in, taking his fill on whatever he could grab.

From the pile, Hop spots a small red berry. He takes it into his hand, realizing it is, in fact, a Haban berry. “Hey! Is this what you’re looking for?”

Hop gives Gloria the Haban berry, who in return, squeals in delight. “Oh Hop, you found it! Just what I was looking for! You’re really the best!” She engulfs the boy in a tight hug. Hop feels his face and ears burn as he returns the tight hug. “Anytime, mate.”

Breaking the hug, Gloria turns to her small partner. “Here Noibat,” The girl hands Noibat the Haban berry, “this is for you.” She then turns to Hop, “and this is for you, luv.”

She places two hands on his shoulders, giving Hop a small peck on the cheek. Hop blinks twice, knees buckling, melting in Gloria’s arms and turning bright red. Gloria couldn’t help but giggle at her rival’s flustered response. From afar, Noibat watches its trainer with _pure disgust_. The girl pulls her rival to his feet, patting both his cheeks, “come on now. Why don’t we train a little more?” She acts as if nothing happened. Hop couldn't respond, too flustered to come up with comprehendible words.

\---

"Win this for us, bud! Duraludon, metal claw!" The heavy, metal-like dragon charges at Noivern. Gloria looks at her Noivern with determination, "Dragon Claw!" The two dragon types clash head on, but Noivern was much faster than Raihan's ace. It brings its powerful claws onto the head of Duraludon, knocking it into the gym's wall. The smoke clears, Duraludon was on the ground, knocked out.

“And Raihan’s Duraludon takes a direct blow from Noivern's Dragon Claw! The winner of this gym battle is Gloria!” The announcer cries as the crowd cheers. Confetti and colorful ribbons fall down as the girl and her partner celebrate their win. Gloria engulfs Noivern in a tight hug, making the dragon type nuzzle her in return. “You never cease to amaze me. Noivern, thank you so much!” Raihan and Gloria exchange handshakes as the dragon gym leader gives the girl her well earned badge. “You truly deserve the win, little mate.” Raihan compliments Gloria. She looks at her Noivern, “do me a favor and grab Hop will you? I'll give you a 'lil extra curry tonight?” The Noivern flies up, grabs Hop with its talons, and places the half scared boy next to Gloria.

“ _Bloody he-_ ” Before Hop could continue, the girl quickly kisses him. The dragon gym leader whistles in amusement as the two teens pull away from the kiss. Hop, once again, melts into the girl's touch. You could practically see steam coming from his head he was that flustered.

“Ah yes, young love. Quite a beauty.” Raihan chuckles to himself. Noivern was rolling its eyes in disgust, before thwacking Raihan upside the head with its tail.


End file.
